TORONTO - Ontario Liberal party president Yasir Naqvi is bowing out of the contest to replace Premier Dalton McGuinty.

He says after thinking long and hard about it, he’s decided not to run for the leadership of the party.

Naqvi says being the father of his five-month-old son Rafi is his most important new job.

He says he’ll continue to work for his constituents in Ottawa Centre and looks forward to helping run the leadership convention.

Party executives are meeting this weekend to decide how quickly they can hold the convention, which was sparked by McGuinty’s surprise announcement last week that he was stepping down and proroguing the legislature.